Generic division of ‘quantity’ and related terms

Abstract

In the slow evolution of the International vocabulary of metrology (VIM), the first concept of ‘quantity’ has now been divided generically into ‘ordinal quantity’ and a coordinate primitive without definition and term. An analysis of the concepts by their characteristics is made, and the nature of inheritance is discussed in response to a recent communication in this journal. A completion of the initiated generic division of ‘quantity’ is suggested, and a neoterm for the sister of ‘ordinal quantity’ is offered on the basis of two proposals.

The author is a member of the Joint Committee on Guides in Metrology (JCGM), Working Group 2 (VIM). The opinions expressed in this paper do not necessarily represent the view of the Working Group.

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